New Delhi, India

India said on Thursday (May 30) that the "heartbreaking" loss of civilian lives in the displacement camp in Rafah is a matter of "deep concern" amid the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip because of the ongoing war. 

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While speaking during the weekly briefing, Randhir Jaiswal, who is the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said that India has consistently called for the protection of the civilian population and respect for international humanitarian law in the ongoing conflict. 

"We also note that the Israeli side has already accepted responsibility for it as a tragic accident and announced an investigation into the incident," Jaiswal added. 

Also read: Gaza war: Israel uncovers 1.5-km-long 'terrorist' tunnel route in east Rafah 

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India's remarks came amid Rafah residents on Thursday reported intense artillery shelling and gunfire in Gaza's far-southern city. The reported aggression increased after Israel said it had seized a strategic corridor on the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt. 

Israel launched its incursion into Rafah in early May despite worldwide concerns over the fate of Palestinian residents sheltering in the region. 

Jaiswal also said that India believes in the establishment of a sovereign, viable, and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders. 

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"As you are aware, India was one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine in the late 1980s, and we have long supported two-state solution," he said. 

Also read: Israel takes 'operational control' of crucial Egypt-Gaza corridor 

Watch: Absence of day-after plan could trigger chaos in Gaza: Blinken 

Israeli airstrike on Rafah kills 12 Palestinians 

Gaza medics claimed that Israeli forces killed at least 12 Palestinians in a dawn airstrike on Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday. 

Citing Gaza medical sources, the news agency Reuters reported that 12 Palestinians had been killed and an unspecified number of others wounded in an Israeli airstrike as they tried to recover the body of a civilian in the centre of Rafah. It is claimed that all were civilians. 

The medics said that another Palestinian civilian was killed in an airstrike on Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City in the north of the densely populated enclave. 

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. 

(With inputs from agencies)